MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in MSA Safety were worth $12,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSA. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of MSA Safety by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,691,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,939,000 after acquiring an additional 40,569 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in MSA Safety by 27.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 781,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,658,000 after purchasing an additional 169,168 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in MSA Safety by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 767,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,251,000 after purchasing an additional 17,052 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in MSA Safety by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 651,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,977,000 after purchasing an additional 131,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MSA Safety by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 590,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,923,000 after buying an additional 150,402 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MSA Safety Stock Performance

Shares of MSA opened at $151.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.79. MSA Safety Incorporated has a 1 year low of $148.59 and a 1 year high of $200.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.14.

MSA Safety (NYSE:MSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. MSA Safety had a return on equity of 28.64% and a net margin of 15.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MSA Safety Incorporated will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

MSA Safety Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. MSA Safety’s payout ratio is currently 28.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of MSA Safety from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MSA Safety in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $197.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MSA Safety news, CAO Jonathan D. Buck sold 717 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.00, for a total transaction of $114,003.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,007. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

About MSA Safety

MSA Safety Incorporated develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions that protect people and facility infrastructures in the fire service, energy, utility, construction, and industrial manufacturing applications, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries worldwide.